i am so pleased u enjoyed it sister Destee - particularly since it's only b/c of ur encouragement that it even took place. hopefully this is an idea (4 a class) whose time has com, & many thanks 4 ur participation - which helped me out also.

2. advanced: 1. opening hook;does the opening line draw u n2 the story? how well did it "capture u & "hold" ur attention?
2.introduction; do the 1st few paragraphs provide sufficient intrigue 2 draw u more deeply n2 the 1st portion of the story? does it portend anything of whats 2 com? or was it stuffy or vague?
3. n the beginning: by the end of the 1st chapter (novel) or page (short) were u immersed n2 the story? could u detect the beginnings of the authors premise or the plot? did u feel u had already met the protagonist?
4. conflict: is there sufficient conflict present 2 motivate u 2 continue reading n order 2 discover how or even f it's resolved? som writing coaches believe that w/o conflict, u don't really hv a story.
can you see any conflict in the story? Conflict can be either inner-conflict or outer-conflict. Inner-conflict: When different values, wishes and desires are at war within the character's own mind. These can be, for example: greed, duty, fear, lust, revenge and love. Outer-conflict: When the longings/needs of different characters clash together.

5. Plot - is the plot clear and believable? Do you get answears to all the questions that arise in your mind as you read the story? plot is what moves the story; it's the mechanism which takes us from where we start 2 where we're going 2 end up.

6. Settings - Can you pictures the settings in the story? Are there many vivid descriptions? Are all five senses, smell, sight, hearing, taste(thats the 1 i left out n class) and touch, used? 1 technique is layering - let's go 2 the park: look @ ur feet - what shoes r u wearing (did u plan 2 com or was it spontaneous?); is there grass around ur feet? is it wet or dry? is it evenly deeply green or is som of it brownish or yellowish? how prominant r the weeds? what about as u look n larger & larger circles around ur feet? as u begin 2 look up, do the trees look like they've sprouted up randomly, or does it look planned? what shape/condition r most of the tree's n? r u sitting or standing? r there benches? wood or plastic? aged or new? painted or unpainted?

thats as far as we were abl3 2 get due 2 time constraints on the advanced critique

we also touched on identifying ur target audience & what that means. there was a ? concerning the different genre's:

I LOVE to write and would very much enjoy gaining a better understanding of writing, so I can improve in my ability to write. I'm sorry I didn't know about this workshop before hand and missed the beginning of your classes, but I will certainly try to join you and others for the next session.